Hippeastrum – commonly known as Amaryllis – are normally a house plant, very popular in the run-up to Christmas, with many colour forms and single or double flowerheads.
They will happily grow outdoors here in the warm climate of the Costa Blanca and bloom, year-after-year.
Hippeastrum is a tender bulb that should flower about six to eight weeks after planting
Plant in the ground in a well lit spot, that is shaded from the scorching sun, from October to January, with two thirds of the bulb showing above ground surface.
Water sparingly, until new leaves develop, and start watering regularly. Do not let the compost dry out, but avoid excess water.
After flowering, cut down spent flower spikes to the base, but keep the leaves on the plant.
In late September stop feeding and reduce watering, so that the plant becomes semi dormant, then cut the remaining old leaves to 10cm from the neck of the bulb. Replace the top 2.5-5cm of compost around the plant.
If you grown them in pots they need re-potting every two or three years, after flowering in January to March.
You can propagate
by seed, or from bulb offsets. However, seed raised can take up to six years to reach maturity to flower, which will usually differ from the parent plant.
Propagation by offsets will produce a flowering bulb in three to four years, which will be identical to the parent plant.
Simply separate the offsets from the main bulb in January to March and pot up in individual pots, or directly in the ground, in free-draining soil. If placed outdoors watch out for slugs and snails.
